


if novanna were endgame

by emma_enchanted



Category: Renegades - Marissa Meyer
Genre: F/F, F/M, part of the Nobell renaissance, reposted because it just refused to show up the first time
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-10
Updated: 2020-09-10
Packaged: 2021-03-06 22:55:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,811
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26396755
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emma_enchanted/pseuds/emma_enchanted
Summary: What would the series have looked like if Nova and Danna were the endgame couple?
Relationships: Nova Artino | Nightmare/Danna Bell | Monarch
Kudos: 8





	1. The Carnival, part 1

**Author's Note:**

> *this is a repost because for some reason it wouldn't show up under any of the tags??? Idk why so I just deleted it and made a new work.
> 
> Basically I'm rewriting the bits of the books that would have been different if Nova and Danna were supposed to get together instead of Adrian. Nothing else is actively changed, so a lot of things are taken directly from the books. 
> 
> Happy reading I hope!!

Nova hadn’t been to Cosmopolis Park in the daytime in years, but she remembered the smell— a mixture of carnival sweets and sweaty children. She quickly spotted the team and immediately felt ridiculous.

“Seriously?” she grumbled as she walked over to them. “Nobody else wore their uniforms?”

Wordlessly, the other four lifted up shirts or unbuttoned collars to reveal their Renegades gear underneath.

“Would you feel better if we changed?” Adrian asked her.

“Not really. We’ll draw enough attention as it is. Are we ready?”

“Yep.” Adrian pulled five tickets out of his pocket and handed them out. They all formed a single-file line with Adrian leading the way. Nova was second to last, with Danna close behind. She felt herself gripping her ticket for dear life, and she wasn’t sure it was entirely lie-related.

The line was longer than they’d expected, leaving them to chat amongst themselves as they shuffled forward.

“So how are you feeling?”

Nova nearly jumped out of her skin. She turned to see Danna looking back at her inquisitively.

Her stomach flipped, her head spun, her adrenaline went through the roof. But that wasn’t what Danna was asking.

“Oh, fine. I didn’t sleep a wink last night, so I feel amazing.”

Danna smiled. “Good. Although, like I said yesterday, it’s not like your skills would have become useless if you stopped being a prodigy.”

Nova smiled weakly in return, feeling even more queasy than before. She wasn’t sure if it was Danna’s attention or dread of the task ahead of her that was causing it. Or both.

They all passed through the gate without incident, then regrouped to decide on their first move.

“Where do we go first, Sketch?” Oscar asked. “If you were a villain who spent most of your time at an amusement park, what would you do?”

“Games, probably,” Adrian answered, quickly enough to indicate that he’d given this some thought.

Nova raised an eyebrow. “Games?”

“We don’t know much about Nightmare, but we do know she’s a good shot. She has to practice, right?”

“And you think she practices with carnival games.” Danna seemed to share Nova’s skepticism.

“What’s wrong?” Adrian teased. “Are you afraid I might beat you?”

Danna scoffed. “Hardly. I’ve seen you aim, Sketch, and it isn’t a pretty sight.”

Nova stifled a giggle. Even if the stress of keeping her identity under wraps was getting to her, she couldn’t help but enjoy that a little.

As it turned out, Danna was speaking the truth. Over the next hour, Nova watched Adrian miss every target by a mile. While the others were certainly better than that, Nova was still the champion of any game that required aim. Oscar easily won anything that required strength.

Nova wound up winning a bunch of mini prizes, all of which she exchanged for an enormous Dread Warden doll that was almost as big as she was.

“Anyone want a prize?” She said, teetering.

“You don’t want it?” Ruby asked, doubled over with laughter.

“I truly don’t.”

“I’ll take it,” Adrian offered. “Though I can’t help but feel that there might be something a little creepy about having a giant doll of your dad lying around. Will it hurt your feelings if I give it to him for his birthday? He will find it hysterical.”

“Do with it what you will,” Nova said. “My feelings will survive.”

Adrian grinned. “What’s next?” He started off, Ruby and Oscar in tow.

Nova stood behind for a minute, watching.

“How weird is it?” She wondered aloud.

“How weird is what?”

Sweet rot. She’d forgotten that Danna was behind her. She blushed scarlet and tried to backtrack.

“How weird is it… that people blindly idolize Adrian’s dads? For him, I mean.”

Danna shrugged. “He seems fine. At least people don’t want to kill them… most people anyways. I know there are people who still don’t like prodigies, especially after all of the things that happened during the Age of Anarchy, but their perceptions of us have definitely improved. Things are better now that they were under Ace Anarchy, and that’s because of the Renegades.”

“Ace Anarchy wasn’t actually in charge,” Nova blurted out. “I mean, he… he was probably technically the ruler of the Anarchists, but I don’t think he really wanted to rule, you know? He mostly… just… wanted the oppression of prodigies to stop. At least that’s what it always sounded like to me.”

Smooth move, Artino, she thought angrily. She’d stuttered her way through a defense of Ace Anarchy, widely considered worst villain in history. Not suspicious at all.

But instead of narrowing her eyes and asking a pointed question, Danna laughed. “How forgiving does a person have to be in order to defend Ace Anarchy?”

“I’m not being forgiving. I just think that he gets blamed for everything that happened during those years, when really… so much of it was because of the other gangs that rose to power in the absence of government. And that’s not what he was trying to accomplish, either. He was all about personal freedom, personal responsibility, about taking care of yourself and your own, rather than expecting anyone to take care of you. He wanted to do away with oppression and regulations that only serve a small group of people, and…um…” She trailed off, embarrassed to have talked for so long about something she wasn’t supposed to. “At least… that’s… that’s what some people say. About him.”

Danna shook her head. “Some people are probably wrong. An even if they aren’t, it doesn’t really matter what his goal was. If he wanted personal freedom, he probably shouldn’t have started the crime and chaos.”

“Sure,” Nova said, against her better judgement. “There was probably something he could have done that wasn’t so violent and terrifying. But it’s not like anyone would listen to a prodigy, so he did what he could do— make a big deal out of it. And besides,” she continued, gesturing out to the bevy of superhero paraphernalia, “if he hadn’t done what he did, none of this would be possible. You and I wouldn’t be standing here.”

Danna bit her lip. It was clear that she wanted to disagree, which frustrated Nova to no end. Was it just because she was talking about Ace? A villain? Was that all it took to turn prodigy against prodigy?

“I guess you’re right,” she finally admitted. “In some roundabout, twisted way, we wouldn’t have the Renegades without Ace Anarchy.”

Nova cringed. What she’d really meant to emphasize was that prodigies weren’t systematically oppressed anymore, not that the Renegades existed. But maybe it was a step in the right direction. She looked into Danna’s eyes—

What?

Immediately they both blushed furiously and looked away, but neither of them understood why.

“We should probably catch up with the rest of the group…” Danna said, trailing off.

Nova cleared her throat. “Um. Yeah. Ok.”

“Race you?”

Nova smiled against her will. “Sure.”

They ran as fast as possible, but when they reached the others they were neck and neck, and no winner could be determined.

“Where did you guys go?” Oscar asked as they caught their breaths.

But there would be no time to explain, for the screams of children could be heard: “RENEGADE!”

The group turned around to see a dozen children running at top speed towards them, decked out in superhero outfits.

In half a moment they were all standing in a clump in front of Nova, who grit her teeth remembering that she was the only one in uniform and thus bound to attract attention.

“It’s her! It’s the one from the trials!” screamed a girl. “Yeah, the one who beat the Gargoyle!” responded a boy.

Danna didn’t miss a beat. With a teasing air, she patted Nova’s shoulder, startling her, and said, “Hey, kids. You’re right. This is Insomnia.”

“Insomnia! That’s right! I was there that night— I gave you the hero sign for sure.”

“Oh. Thanks?” Nova stumbled.

“Will you come to my birthday party?” asked another boy dressed in full Captain Chromium getup. “It’s a superhero theme! Come on!”

Before she could see it coming there were four kids grabbing her by the arms and pulling her towards the birthday tent. She looked back at the others, who she wasn’t surprised to find stifling laughter.

“Hold on,” she said, shaking the little hands away. “Yes, I’m Insomnia. But they’re the real heroes. You should definitely pester them instead.”

The eyes of the others widened simultaneously. Oscar recovered quickest.

“That’s right, kids. It isn’t every day you meet someone who can do this.” He blew into the air, creating smoke that formed the words ‘Happy Birthday!’

“Whoa!” said the birthday boy, completely mesmerized.

Convinced, the kids led the five of them to the birthday tent, where Adrian and Oscar, having the most showstopping abilities, were quickly performing party tricks. Adrian had already started drawing a bicycle for the birthday boy on the wall of the tent.

Nova stood to the side and watched. Oscar was creating all sorts of shapes with his smoke abilities. Danna, somewhat reluctantly, was going in and out of swarm mode, sometimes perching on a couple of wonderstruck kids. Ruby was very clearly uncomfortable with the whole situation— blood-related powers wouldn’t be the most kid-friendly— but she was became quite the fan-favorite once she realized she could show them her bloodstone.

“Excuse me?”

Nova glanced down. There was a little girl standing next to her, possibly a little older than the other kids.

“Don’t look at me,” said Nova. “My abilities are negligible compared to theirs.”

The girl blinked once, twice, then said, “I was at the trials. You were amazing. You didn’t even use superpowers!”

“No, that’s the thing, my power isn’t.. showy. Not like that.”

“Yeah, but that’s what was so great about it.” The girl blushed. “I’m not a prodigy, but seeing you, it sort of made me think that maybe I could be a Renegade, too, you know?”

Nova opened and closed her mouth like a fish out of water. She wasn’t used to being an inspiration, but if she played her cards right, she might be able to plant a seed here.

She bent down to the girl’s level. “Can I tell you a secret?”

The girl came closer, all ears.

“You don’t need to be a Renegade to be a superhero.”

The girl looked skeptical. “That sounds like something my mom would say.”

Nova laughed. “Sorry. I mean, it’s true… but it’s also sort of a cop-out, isn’t it?”

“Did you get any cake? I’ll bring you some! My mom made it. It’s really good.”

Startled, Nova watched the girl run off.

“‘You don’t need to be a Renegade to be a superhero?’”

Nova turned, startled again. Danna was standing there, smirking.

“Well, yeah,” Nova said. “Don’t get me wrong, being a Renegade is great. And being inspirations to all of these kids is great. But I don’t think they should be so reliant on us that they forget that they can do good things too.”

“Interesting,” Danna said. “I don’t know why I never thought of it that way.”

She smiled at Nova. Nova smiled back. It felt real, good.

Too good.

“Here you go!” The girl had returned with cake.

“Oh! Thank you!” She tore her gaze away from Danna and began shoving cake in her face to prevent outbursts.

“You really like cake, huh?” Danna commented with a hint of sarcasm.

Nova detected it, but didn’t want to address it. “Oh, yeah.”

Oscar and Ruby drifted over. “I think it’s time to rescue Adrian, guys.”

They all looked. The kids surrounded Adrian, who was holding his marker high in the air.

“Absolutely not. No one’s getting a life-size pony. I’m drawing the line, kids!”

“Leave it to me,” Danna said. Before anyone could respond, she went back into swarm mode and flew over the heads of the children to get to Adrian. She muttered something to him, and he nodded.

“Unfortunately, we’ve got to get going.” The kids groaned collectively.

“I know, I know,” Adrian said. “But heroism awaits!” He let Danna pull him through the crowd and out of the tent.

“You’re welcome,” Danna said when they’d regrouped.

“Much appreciated,” said Adrian. “That was fun, though.”

“It’s hard not to have fun when you’re so popular, I expect,” said Nova.

Adrian laughed. “Like you wouldn’t know. It’s Insomnia! She beat Gargoyle! We love her!”

They all laughed.

“Hey, where’s the Dread Warden?” The enormous doll was noticeably missing from Adrian’s person.

“I gave him to the birthday boy. Did you know, he really likes superheroes?”

Nova checked her watch. It was almost time.

“Is anyone hungry?” she said, voice trembling ever so slightly. I think there’s a popcorn stand this way. Past the gallery.”

The others didn’t question it, only shrugged and set off.

“You missed a sprinkle.”

Nova nearly jumped at the sound of Danna’s voice. “What?”

Danna’s thumb swiped across the corner of Nova’s mouth. She showed Nova the orange sprinkle that had come off, then playfully popped it into her mouth.

Nova smiled halfheartedly, then took some deep breaths. She needed to focus on her mission, not on Danna.

She’d placed the photo carefully in the gallery the night before. She just hoped someone would be observant enough to notice.

Ruby was looking at the right wall. She’d see it in three… two… one…

“Hey, guys? Check out this photo.”

Nova gulped and went. The photo was of what was currently and had always been called The Fun House. She hoped they didn’t know that it had never been called—

“The Nightmare,” read Adrian, realization dawning over his face. “Do you think we should go talk to your old boss about it?” Nova jumped when she figured out he was referring to her phony backstory. “Maybe he could tell us when the name was changed, or…”

“I doubt he would know much,” Nova replied. “It was the fun house during the Age of Anarchy, so the name must have been changed a really long time ago. I think we should just go check it out.”

She waited for resistance, but there was none. Instead Adrian thought for a moment, then said, “You’re right. Let’s go.”

A several cautious yards later, Danna spotted the next clue.

“Look,” she said, pointing at the ground. “Fresh tracks.”

Adrian looked at the prints, then at the others. “Do you think she’s in there?”

“It would be a good place to lay low,” said Oscar.

They crept nearer the Fun House with the same apprehension. It wasn’t a pretty sight— run down and filled with creepy decorations.

Adrian stopped abruptly and turned back again. “If we do see Nightmare, you know not to let her touch you, right?”

They all nodded.

And in one swift motion, as the group kept pushing forward, Danna slipped her hand into Nova’s.

Nova looked up at the taller girl’s expression, but nothing could be detected other than general distaste for the decor. It was casual, like she’d been holding Nova’s hand for years.

Did Danna like her? Nova’s heart pounded at the thought.

Because with every passing day, Danna seemed prettier and prettier to her. Maybe, if everything about their relationship weren’t a lie, it could work.

With an abundance of hope and despair in her heart, she squeezed Danna’s hand.


	2. The Carnival, part 2

Danna was completely surprised when Nova squeezed her hand. She’d thought it was a one-sided thing, but apparently…

Everyone was extremely twitchy once they entered the Fun House, and they all kept looking around as though something would jump out and whack them over the head any minute. 

But none of the creepy figurines showed any signs of life or movement. It was all, as they told themselves, their imaginations. 

Danna spotted an inconsistency on the floor ahead. “Guys, look. Those are fresh tracks. Someone’s been here recently.”

Without unlacing her fingers from Danna’s, Nova reached into her belt and pulled out a little device that she snapped like a glow stick and threw into the doorway ahead of them. 

“That’s neat,” said Adrian. 

“Exothermic micro-flares. I make them myself.”

“If you happen to run out of them, I could also draw a flashlight.”

Nova scowled. Danna found it cute, but the thought was completely against her will. Why couldn’t her brain ever listen to its own logic?

They passed through a couple more doorways, following Nova’s micro-flares. She would leave each one where is was as they passed, then throw another as far ahead as possible. 

They made a couple of mistakes in their attempts to get through the maze; one being Danna’s own fault. She’d seen tracks headed left instead of right, but left turned into an empty dead end pretty quickly. 

It was almost as if someone had intentionally thrown them off the track. 

But soon they had made it to the end of the maze and into a long hallway that looked like it had been taken straight out of a colonial mansion. 

The second Adrian, the first one in line, stepped into the hallway, it began to tilt and shift under him. 

Gasps rang out as he tumbled into the wall. He seemed jolted but unhurt. 

“Heads up, guys— the floor moves.”

“You don’t say,” said Oscar, only half-joking.

Adrian crept forward, taking a half-step onto the next piece of floor before putting his weight on it. Ruby and Oscar began to follow him.

The second the two of them stepped onto the platform, it dropped out from underneath them and they fell through a giant metal slide to who knows what below. 

“Ruby! Oscar!” Adrian yelled. 

There was a chilling moment of silence. Then Ruby’s voice finally came back to them, with a weak “I’m ok!”

“And Oscar?”

“I think he hit his head a little. He’s breathing normally, and there’s no blood, so it can’t be serious.”

Adrian grit his teeth. “Okay. Just hold on a second, I’m coming.”

Nova’s hand tensed, just enough for Danna to feel it.

“WAIT!” Ruby’s voice came echoing back in a panic. “I can’t see an immediate way forward from here; we’re stuck in a room. You guys keep going, I’ll find a way out and call for medical assistance.”

“Are you sure?” Adrian was very clearly struggling with the idea of leaving teammates behind. It made Danna feel proud to have him as a leader. 

“Yes, now go. If Nightmare is actually here, we’ve probably already tipped her off.”

Adrian stiffened. Ruby was right— with all the shouting they’d been doing, Nightmare was probably on her way out. Which meant they needed to hustle. 

Silently, he nodded and gestured for Nova and Danna to follow. If he saw their clasped hands, he made no indication. 

The girls took a step forward, avoiding the trap door through which Ruby and Oscar had fallen. Nothing. They took another step. Nothing. Then came the third step.

And suddenly, Danna felt Nova’s fingers slide from her own as the smaller girl screamed and fell through a metal slide down below. 

“Nova! Nova!” Danna screamed. It had happened too fast. She should have held tighter. Nova might have wound up with a dislocated elbow, but that would be better than being stuck underground or injured or who knows what.

“I’m fine!” Nova came calling back. 

Danna began to breathe again without being aware that she had ever stopped. “Are you okay?”

“Yes, I’m fine, but I’m stuck too. I can’t see Oscar and Ruby, either. You two keep going, I’ll figure this out.”

Danna bit her lip. She didn’t want to keep going without the comfort of Nova’s hand inside her own. But Adrian put his hand on her shoulder and nodded. 

And then there were two. 

Carefully, they inched their way through the hall without incident. After going through the next door, they found themselves in a hexagonal room with six green doors. 

“Well this sucks,” Danna said. “Do we just have to try them all until something works?”

“Guess so.” Adrian walked over to a door and opened it, finding nothing but a solid brick wall. “Not that one.” He closed it and marked it with an X. 

Danna opened the door straight in front of her and nearly jumped. Through it there was a room painted in black and white patterns, designed to trick the eye. 

But instead it drew her eye to just what it needed to see: a sleeping bag, a pillow, and a duffel. 

“Adrian,” she said, a slight tremor in her voice. 

He came running. “Oh.”

Danna tenuously stepped her way to the duffel bag and slowly opened it. She pulled out what she found for Adrian to see: extra clothes, sneakers, and a bazooka-size gun that had been seen on Nightmare. 

She looked at Adrian knowingly, and he immediately began sending a message to the Council on his wristband. 

Danna listened to the little beeps of the wristband for a moment, until her eye caught on something. 

A sneaky five-foot something. 

She quietly grabbed Adrian’s arm, who looked up sharply. She saw his eyes widen as he stared at the something. 

Nightmare, crossing into the next room. 

Neither Danna nor Adrian hesitated for more than a second before unzipping their sweatshirts to reveal the Renegade R, then charging after the villain. 

They weren’t trying to be discreet, but maybe they should have been. Within another two seconds, Nightmare had whipped around and shot some kind of beam through the tiny gap between the two Renegades, striking a corner support beam. 

The walls fell in on Danna and Adrian. Thinking quickly, Danna snatched Adrian’s hand and ran without looking back. She felt his weight pull on her momentarily, then ease off as he began running with her. 

“Sketch to HQ, calling for backup. We’ve located Nightmare. She’s on the run— we’re pursuing her now.”

They fell to the ground as he finished this transmission, enveloped in a cloud of dust from the collapsing tunnel behind them. There was no sign of Nightmare. 

Danna’s composure was falling apart and she wasn’t used to that happening. Because where did Nightmare go when she needed a quick escape? What would she do if she found Ruby, or Oscar, or… Nova?

She rolled over on her back, poised to get up, when she saw Nightmare just above her in the rafters. 

Danna froze, but Nightmare already saw them. She had a revolver in her right hand, and she lifted it. 

Danna prepared for swarm mode, but a gunshot rang out, and it was not aimed at her. She looked across in the direction of Nightmare’s shot…

Directly across from the fun-house exit, perched on the stage of an old puppet theater, sat the Detonator.


End file.
